Fun And Games
by CrimsonCobwebs
Summary: The shady truth behind the way Tantalus REALLY used to live. Life isn't all fun and games, you know? R&R please.


_I keep writing these short little stories don't know why! i wanted to portray what life for a bandit would ACTUALLY be like. _

_Life isn't all fun and games you know ;-)_

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_I woke up on the wrong side of the floor.  
Made my way through the front door.  
Broke my engagement with myself.  
Perfect picture of bad health, another notch scratched on my belt.  
The future just ain't what it used to be.  
__-Greenday, Uptight_

'Yo. Yo! Zidane. You awake, man?

My head was throbbing. My mouth tasted of sick. I smelt of the night before. I said nothing.

I heard a sigh. 'Listen man I know you're awake, don't kid yourself; we're all feeling as shitty as you, you know. You've gotta be at work in half an hour.'

Work? When did Blank start calling stealing 'work'?

'If you're late Boss'll kick your sorry ass. So move it.'

My redheaded Tantalus brother smacked the back of my head with his palm and stars burst before my eyes. My stomach lurched and I threw my head over the side of the bed and threw up.

Blank sighed and I heard him walk away.

My name is Zidane Tribal, and I had a bad night.

I may be only fourteen years old, but hell, I've done stuff people in their sixties wouldn't have dreamt of doing. It all comes down to hanging with crooks, you see. Don't get me wrong, I love those guys, they're my family; I've never known anything else and wouldn't swap this dingy, dirty, stolen goods filled hideout for even the most luxurious of palaces. But being part of a gang means that I can have access to anything. _Anything_. Drugs, women, alcohol, money, you name it and I can get it with a snap of my fingers.

Few people know this but Boss' name is whispered among the back alleys with fear. He's a potent figure in relation to underground crooks; he's one of the best. He's ruthless and efficient. He delivers on time and his actions leave the authorities chasing their tails in confusion and biting each other's asses in frustration.

We get away with it every time. The 'good ol' theatre troupe are back in town' they say, and I'd hear little kids begging their parents to take them so they can watch our performances. Sure they'll have a good time, have a laugh, maybe enjoy themselves when watching us on stage but then they'll home and it'll be: 'darling, where's my wallet?' or, 'Huh? I'm sure I had more Gil than this' or, 'my necklace! It's gone!' and then there'll be us laughing backstage with a pocketful of wealth hidden beneath stage props.

But I think everyone is aware of the danger secretly. We all know what would happen if we were ever caught…but it's best not to think about that, let alone _talk_ about it.

I sat up. My head spun and stomach lurched again. I retched but nothing came out; my stomach was empty. I really needed to get ready for…'work' as Blank put it. Today it was my turn to make the 'pickle buying' rounds. Pickle buying is the code us Tantalus use when referring to pick pocketing. If I run into say, Blank, on the street, he'll ask me, 'How many pickles did you buy?'…and if I've successfully stolen loot from, like, six people, I'll say, 'I bought six'. Then Blank might say 'You'll need to buy more than that' or 'That'll do plenty'. Sounds stupid right? But we can't just say in broad daylight, in the middle of a busy street, 'How many people have you stolen from today, Zidane?'. _That_ would be stupid.

I stretched my arms. They ached badly. In fact, all my limbs ached. My eyes weren't focussing properly either, and now that I thought about it, I couldn't recall much of last night. We went to a club. One of those shady places near the Industrial District. It was infested with drug addicts, dealers and prostitutes. There were two strippers working, I remember, on a table near us. Marcus and Blank had already started doing shots. They always competed with each other and always ended up unable to walk at the end of the night. Ruby had gone to talk with one of the prostitutes. One of the strippers waved at her. None of them seemed to care that a fourteen year old really shouldn't be in a place like this and when Blank pushed a shot under my nose and told me to 'drink up', no one seemed to care about that either.

I don't remember much else.

Cautiously I slid down the ladder from my top bunk. My feet landed in my own vomit - or was it Blank's? - and I wrinkled my nose. Looking around I realised the Hideout was empty. What time was it anyway?

I walked straight to the bathroom - no wait - make that, I _stumbled_ straight to the bathroom. The room was spinning like crazy and I stopped, leaning on an armchair, to retch again.

When I got to the bathroom I immediately regretted my decision to look in the mirror. Man I looked like shit. There were big black bags under my blood shot eyes and my face was all puffy and pale. There was a bruise just left of my chin and a scabbed-over cut on my bottom lip. Had I been in a fight again?

My nose started bleeding. Why was it bleeding?

Oh wait. I know.

I stuck my fingers cautiously down my throat and when I took them out they were specked with blood. I remember. I was pretty drunk by then. Blank just kept supplying me with shots. Then later, I'd sat there and watched as Marcus, Cinna and Blank did lines. They were really wankered. Then Marcus had looked at me with a sly expression pasted on his ugly mug and had said, 'Oi, Zidane, c'mere and try it.'

Honestly, I don't know any better. It's not like they're setting a good example anyway. Boss didn't intervene either. I don't think it's the fact he doesn't care - it's the fact that, like me, he really doesn't know any different. He imports the stuff anyway, and Cinna deals it every Wednesday and Friday. It's a way of life to me. Don't look at me like that! Besides, if they didn't get me into it someone else less trustworthy would eventually.

I held my head in my hands for a moment. My tail twitched. I really have to stop going out so much. I'd gotten so…pissed, man. Ruby…Ruby she…thought it was hilarious. I can just hear her voice now, slurred from drink, 'Aw he looks down right adorable when he's like this, don't he?' A half naked stripper was next to her and I think she agreed. I couldn't even think straight enough to reply.

It's fun though. I think it's so funny watching them. They act so stupid. I bet I act twice as stupid. You can just imagine can't you?

All of sudden there's a ruckus outside. Someone had walked through the front door.

'Acchh-hoooo!'

Boss.

'Zidane! Zidaaaane! Get your ass out here!'

Uh-oh.

I stumbled out of the bathroom, still in just my underwear. My head was throbbing slightly.

It wasn't just Boss; Blank, Ruby, Marcus and Cinna were all here. They all looked a little worse for wear and all looked pretty distressed. Boss looked angry.

'Some fucking moron dropped a package into the authorities' HQ which hinted that it was _us_ that broke into Theodora's mansion!' he roared.

It was us, obviously, but that wasn't the point.

'I heard the Authorities talking, they're on their way over now,' Cinna said, waving his hammer madly in the air with panic. 'They'll be here any minute!'

Shit.

The hideout was a crook's lair if there ever was one. Stolen Gil was stacked up in neat piles on the table where Baku had been counting it. Stolen Jewellery was spilling out of every treasure chest in sight. Plans to Theodora's mansion _and_ Martella's Castle were laid out on the floor; the routes we took to gain entry plotted with a black marker on their surface. A stack of white powder (Bakus supply of contraband) was piled on top of each in clear packets in a large blue bag.

Shit.

'Sort this place out!' Baku bellowed while scooping the Gil off the table and into a brown bag. 'Get rid of that shit in the bag! Hide those damn chests! Cover that bloody sick up!'

Cinna grabbed the drugs and sprinted out the room. Blank and Ruby locked and carried the chests away, they were going to hide them under floorboards in the next room.

Someone thumped on the front door. 'Open up in the name of the Law. By order of the high governor we have the right to inspect this building and anyone found inside for stolen goods.'

We all froze for just a second, eyes wide in fear, then scattered once again. I picked up a pile of costumes used in our performances and dumped them on top of the piles of sick by the bed, then pulled on a shirt and trousers.

'Open up or we will knock down this door!' the male voice shouted again.

'Bastards,' Boss hissed and cuffed me. 'Go distract them boy.'

My head was spinning again. Geez could this day get any bloody worse?

I opened the door a fraction and was greeted by six Lindblum guards. The authorities.

'Good Morning, sirs,' I greeted cheerily, flashing a grin. I hoped I didn't have blood on my face. 'Is there a problem?'

'We have information concerning your troupe of actors, going by the group name of Tantalus. We have been informed that Tantalus have been involved in a major burglary act Tuesday of last week. We have been given permission by the head Governor himself to search this house.'

I opened my eyes wide in feigned innocent. 'Burglary? I think you've got it wrong, sir. We're just a bunch of harmless performers-'

'Stand aside boy before you get hurt.'

What a dick.

'You said you have permission?' I went on cheekily. 'Shouldn't you have…written confirmation or something? I can't just let you stroll into my house. What if _you're_ the burglars?'

The guard looked pissed and seemed about to show me who was the boss in this situation, but obviously thought better of it. He glared at me and reached inside his uniform. He handed me a parchment with an official seal stamped at the bottom. I pretended to read it.

'Well I'm still not sure…' I pressed in a whiney voice.

The guard stepped forward angrily, one hand pressing against the door. 'Now look here you brat-'

'Zidane!' a voice roared behind me. 'What are you doing boy? Get out the damn way and let me through! How many times have I told you to come and get _me_ to answer the door?'

Boss emerged and flung the door violently open, startling the guards in front of us. He cuffed me sharply round the head. 'Go back inside you little whelp!'

I scampered inside and tried to hide my grin. It seemed I'd brought them enough time to hide the stolen goods. Blank, Cinna and Marcus were sitting at the table playing cards, looking as if they had been doing it all morning. Blank winked at me. Ruby was sitting on the windowsill eating cereal, looking as natural as anything.

I plonked myself on the bed and tried to look forlorn, though my heart was hammering in my chest.

Boss smiled. 'I hope you'll forgive the boys rude behaviour. It is entirely my fault. I should discipline him better.'

'Yes, you should,' the guard replied with unmasked arrogance.

'Please, please, come in.'

The six of them strode in and eyed their surroundings and us warily.

'I heard what you said,' Boss was saying, 'and we have nothing to hide. Please, take a look around.'

'We will, don't worry,' the guard retorted snootily.

The group broke off and wandered with purpose around our Hideout. They overturned chests filled with props and emptied our food cupboards. They knocked on the walls to see if there were any hollow places. They ripped the covers off the beds and threw off the mattresses. They searched the Hideout from top to bottom, but it ended fruitlessly. We were professionals. We expected things like this to happen and planned for it. We knew they wouldn't find anything.

Eventually they left. The guard muttered something about us being 'lucky'.

Who gives a shit? We were safe again for another day.

Boss sank down into his armchair with a tremendous sigh. Blank lit a cigarette and Ruby threw the bowl of cereal down the sink. I contemplated cleaning the sick up off the floor and realised without concern I was late for 'work'.

Ah well, life isn't all fun and games, I guess.

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_Yup i know it's random :-D Maybe someone should tell Garnet haha! Tell me what you think!_


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